Have you ever met one of your heroes?  The Gourmet Institute is all about meeting culinary luminaries and heroes.  I look forward to attending it every year.  With all of the corporate sponsorships that I have worked on in my career, I have had the fortune of meeting many celebrities, including countless football, baseball and tennis players.  However, I don't care for sports, so it is mostly work for me.  While most folks would die for the chance to meet and talk with Tiki Barber, meeting I am excited by the opportunity to talk to Ruth Reichl.

Manhattan yesterday afternoon for a lunch meeting with a reporter/friend of mine that covers technology for Martha Stewart.  We met at the Time Warner Center and had lunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon.  If you have never been there, Bouchon is located in front of the the Samsung Experience store in the open space on the third floor of the mall. The restaurant displays a magnificent view of the waterfall within Columbus Circle.  A casual dining environment, Bouchon feels comfortable but maintains the utmost food quality and luxury one expects from a Thomas Keller restaurant.

Like in France, Bouchon offers wines by the glass, ½ carafes, or bottle.  Now, my strange sense of etiquette dictates that white wine is appropriate with lunch, while red wine can appear a bit over the top.  However, Suzanne and I looked at the St. Emillion on the wine list and proceeded to base our entire menu around justifying ordering Bordeaux with lunch.

We began sharing the Terrine of Fois Gras de Canard appetizer – now, you may remember the last time I ate in Bouchon and ordered the Fois Gras at Boucheon, I described it as…  "Reminiscent of rustic, provincial French cuisine, my Fois Gras arrived.  Presented in a mason jar, they served the terrine with strips of French bread and sea salt.  Talk about silky elegance!  If people measured Fois Gras in thread count, this one would classify a 600.  I tasted just a hint of sweetness in the Fois Gras—like perhaps a port or late harvest wine— that counterbalanced the yeastiness of the bread.  Add salt and perfection!"

Well, this terrine is rather large.  Even with two of us slathering our tasty toasties with slabs of Fois Gras, we only made it through half the jar.  The wine coated our palates in velvet and the fois gras added layers of satin to our tongues, leaving us feeling decadent and… well… full.

In between courses, Suzanne and I discussed the subject of reviews – product and technology reviews.  We talked about how nearly half the technology writers out there today actually understand the business and industry of consumer electronics.  This understanding adds depth, differentiation and credibility to the reviewer's writing.  We concurred that knowing how things work is equally important to judging how well they work.  We also discussed the importance of standards in review criteria.  The more thorough the reporter sets their measurement standards, the more accurate an assessment of not only one product, but every product within a category they will achieve.  

We continued our deliberations after our entrees arrived.  I ordered the special – three mini-burgers with cheddar cheese and tomato marmalade, which they served with a mesuclun salad.  Suzanne ordered the grilled roast beef and fontina cheese sandwich.  We split both.

Made from Wagyu beef, these burgers arrived on light, airy, golden-toped dome-shaped buns with cheese and tomato marmalade underneath.  Each bite accentuated the flavors of the separate elements.  Contrastingly, the roast beef sandwich melded the melted cheese and uber-tender beef together with the crusty bread to form gooey goodness.  We took our time, lingering over our last bites and finishing our wine.

After Suzanne left, I traveled down to the Millennium Hotel to register for the weekend, where I received a large canvas tote bag filled to the brim with Sponsor's Graff.  We had bottles of Fiji water, a pound of organic coffee, various dark chocolate samples, a Cuisinart small appliance (I haven't opened it yet) and so much more.  Then, I walked the sponsor pavilion.  First, I picked up a lychee martini (Much better than that restaurant in San Fran) and then I walked the lounge, where I collected all sorts of other samples – hot sauce, liquor, olive oil, etc…  There were chefs from Louisiana preparing a phenomenal gnocchi with crabmeat in a cream, truffle and parmesan reduction sauce.  Sara Moulton prepared strawberries stuffed with a cream filling (Cream cheese, orange zest, and chocolate bits), Peru brought in some of their best chefs and made amazing crab and lobster cervechi, polenta stuffed with seafood and really fun drinks.

At this point, I could hardly think of eating.  I had stuffed myself at lunch and then nibbled for about two hours in the pavilion, so I hopped in a cab and made my way back to the Time Warner Center and dropped off the bag of Graff in my car.  My cousin Caryn happened to be in Manhattan and met me for a drink before I went to the cocktail reception.  Gourmet decided to host the cocktail reception in the open space of the second and third floors of the Time Warner building.

The cocktail party featured hors d' oeurves from eight of Manhattan's finest restaurants, including:

·         A fantastic foray of fromage from Formaggio Kitchen that featured honey and cheeses that I have only found in LACE w:st="on">ProvenceLACE>;

·         Goat cheese profiteroles and an orecchiette alla norcina (ear-shaped pasta with sweet Italian sausage in a cream sauce) from Landmarc;

·         Mac and Cheese and Gumbo-alya from Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola;

·         Pulled Pork Shoulder with Coffee BBQ Sauce on Brioche Buns and Manhattan Seafood Cocktail with Makers Mark and orange bitters from Porterhouse New York;

·         "Cornet" of Marinated Atlantic Salmon with sweet red onion "Crème fraiche" and truffle popcorn from Per Se;

·         Short rib tartlets from Café Grey;

·         Rice-flaked blue shrimp with tamarind glaze from Grayz; and last but not least

·         Chocolate Bouchons and Nut Butters from Bouchon Bakery.

I'm going to take you back in time now about three years.  When I decided to turn my writing skills to my favorite subject – food – I began reading voraciously.  I picked up books and magazines from every food writer that earned respect and notoriety within the culinary industry.   

Of them all, I had the most respect for Ruth Reichl.  Her knowledge and understanding of both food and writing is paramount within cuisine and journalism. I constantly shape my own perspectives by her sensibilities and attitude toward writing restaurant reviews.

Last year, I met Ruth Reichl for the first time at the Gourmet Institute.  She spoke on a panel with Gale Green and several restaurateurs on the subject of restaurant reviews.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  This time last year, I was mid-way through Alan Richman's Food Writing course at the French Culinary Institute.   Alan and I had an ongoing debate about criteria for restaurants. I wanted to better understand what was the industry standard for restaurant critics criteria.  He based his reviews on how good his food and service experience was.  So when facing this panel of the most famous restaurant reviewers (Ruth Reichl and Gale Green), I had to ask:

"What are your standard criteria when evaluating restaurants? Do you have a check-list of things you look for?"

Gale answered first, "My reviews are completely subjective," she said.  "My articles are based on my mood, my interactions with the wait staff, the atmosphere of the restaurant and, of course, the food itself."

Then Ruth tackled the question, "I base my restaurant reviews on how successfully a restaurant achieves its ambition." She continued, "Whether or not I personally prefer French Bisto, I rate a restaurant like Balthazar on their ability to deliver the highest possible quality bistro they can create."  

So, fast-forward to last night.  Ruth hosted the reception, as graciously and warmly as ever!  (She is such a smart, approachable woman that knows more about food and writing combined than anyone else I have ever encountered).  I wanted to say hello and thank you to her for arranging another year of this fantastic event – but I'm nervous.  When I get nervous, I talk – a lot.  I don't always know what I am saying either.  It's totally embarrassing.  

She's just finishing up a conversation with someone else, when I approached her and said thank you.  I reminded her of our panel last year and the impression she left on my seedling writer's mind.  We began to discuss the "criteria" issue again, and just as she was about to impart pearls of wisdom on her philosophy to food writing, the waiter interrupts us. "Excuse me miss, this young lady is looking for you."

I turned around to look.  Surely, it was one of Ruth's staff, or many adoring fans.  Alas, no – there, in front of me – on the other side of the rope and stanchion – stood my cousin, Caryn.  

Ruth said, "Do I know you?"

Before I could jump in Caryn said, "No, I'm Debbie's cousin, I'm just waiting for her."   

Caryn looked at me and saw the fear in my eyes.  

"I'll be right there, just one moment," I quibbled.  I turned to Ruth, and explained that my cousin is a college student and met me for a ride home.

"Oh, where does she go to school," Ruth asked.   

I drew a blank.  I couldn't think.  I paused, but nothing came to mind.  "I… don't remember."  I was mortified!

Caryn said she would meet me in the bookstore and I turned back to Ruth, who finished explaining her theories to me and proceeded to greet other guests.

I met Caryn, apologized and explained to her whom it was I was talking with.  We both decided to call it a night and headed home.

More on today's adventures after dinner at Le Bernadin. Stay tuned…